LocationsSeeds of unity: The story of the thriving Linaelao Community Garden
November 29, 2023
Community gardens hold significant importance in various aspects of society and the environment, such as improving household food security and income generation and helping alleviate poverty among rural communities, especially women-headed households.
Food insecurity is more prevalent in the north-western regions, mainly due to chronic poverty and droughts. The Linaelao community project in the Okongo Constituency of Ohangwena Region aims to contribute to food security by establishing a garden in Oshalande village about 50km from Okongo town. The garden supplies affordable vegetables and fruits to the local communities and markets. And also aims to improve the nutrition of the local community. The project was supported through the Namibia Integrated Landscape Approach for Enhancing Livelihoods and Environmental Governance to Eradicate Poverty (NILALEG) implemented by the Ministry of Environment Forestry and Tourism grant worth N$ 1,252,681.08.
Implemented by a group of dedicated individuals, this project aims to promote self-sufficiency, enhance livelihoods, and empower the community through sustainable agricultural practices. Ms Panduleni Kwedhi, the chair lady of the Linaelao project, says that the project has helped with food security in the community, in the last harvest, 102 households received five heads of cabbage each and a sack of green and yellow peppers. She further added that 16 members of the community were employed during the denuding of the area, and they were compensated for their work. Out of the 16 people, 10 were young people. The project thrives to benefit the community members in various aspects of their lives.
“Thus far, besides the skills and knowledge transfer, distribution of cabbages, yellow and green papers, and access to water for those nearby, we have challenges with water. The water issue has now been partially resolved, so we look forward to our next big harvest. We hope it will be 80% and above so that we can fully implement the benefits as stipulated in our benefits distribution plan,” Said Kwedhi.
Signage of the Linaelao Community Horticultural Group
They also have on-the-job volunteers who they hope can be able to start their backyard gardens one day. Twenty-seven years old, Ms Shekupe Ndamononghenda Haukongo, one of the beneficiaries, state that she had gained enough skills and knowledge on gardening from the project to start her own garden in the future.
Households, including mine, also received cabbages, yellow and green papers from the last harvest, she added.
They also have on-the-job volunteers who they hope can be able to start their backyard gardens one day. Twenty-seven years old, Ms Shekupe Ndamononghenda Haukongo, one of the beneficiaries, stated that she had gained enough skills and knowledge on gardening from the project to start her garden in the future.
Justah Nalushiya, Vice Chair of the project displaying the produces
Haukongo also highlighted that there has been a change in the community as some members have already started their gardens. She also emphasized that the community members, especially the youth, must be educated on the project to understand how they can benefit from it.
The project has yet to be commercialized, but plans are underway to implement that. At the moment, all profits made are re-invested into implants, seeds, fertilizers, droppers etc. They have, however, produced and packaged sample dried spinach and sauce from the garden.
As the Linaelao Community Project continues to strive towards its goals, it serves as a shining example of grassroots initiatives that can transform communities through sustainable agriculture, generating economic opportunities and improving livelihoods one harvest at a time.
The NILALEG project was launched in 2019 in conjunction with the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism and is funded by the Global Environment Facility with support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Namibia.
NILALEG is designed to promote an integrated landscape management approach in critical agricultural and forest landscapes, reducing poverty through sustainable nature-based livelihoods, protecting biodiversity and restoring forests as carbon sinks, and promoting Land Degradation Neutrality.
Linaelao project-produced dried spinach and sauce
